Plastic surgeon Ansis Ģīlis: no saving on quality in medicine

Ansis Ģīlis, a plastic surgeon and medical director of the Plastic Surgery Clinic in Latvia, believes healthcare must not cut costs at the expense of material quality or staff qualifications. In his view, doing so can prove very expensive. He shared this in a profile published by the Latvian business daily Dienas Bizness, which also covers his career and the changes in the sector.

Ģīlis says success in medicine rests on a doctor's professionalism, knowledge and ability to care for a person who entrusts them with health, appearance and sometimes even life. When a doctor takes on management duties, it also becomes important to see the bigger picture and choose a direction for development. A manager must be able not only to set goals but also to recognise in time when the chosen path no longer works.

Family and education

Ģīlis was born and raised in a family of doctors, so he has known the medical environment since childhood. Until around the age of 30 he assumed he would work only as a physician, but he gradually became more involved in organisational and administrative work. He wanted to develop himself and also help the workplaces where he worked to grow.

He graduated from Rīga Stradiņš University and completed a residency in plastic surgery. He later earned a European master's degree in surgical oncology and in reconstructive and aesthetic breast surgery at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. During his studies he gained experience in large clinics in Switzerland, Spain, Belgium and Italy, where he observed each institution's internal rhythm, communication between staff and the organisation of the patient's journey. He says this has helped him in his work in Latvia.

A changing field

Over the past 15–20 years the medical sector has changed significantly, according to Ģīlis. He recalls that doctors were once seen almost as arbiters of a person's fate, whereas now they are also service providers, regardless of whether the patient or the state pays. Both staff and patients have broader knowledge, and the two sides need to be brought together.

First experience

During his studies Ģīlis spent two years working as a nurse's assistant in the intensive care unit of the Traumatology and Orthopaedics Hospital. He says it let him learn medicine from the basics, see how different specialties cooperate and observe the care of critically ill patients.